Attorney: Ventura deserves millions from Kyle

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An attorney for former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is asking a federal jury to award Ventura millions in damages for what he claims is a lie in a memoir by the late military sniper Chris Kyle.

Ventura testified that Kyle invented a story about punching him in a California bar in 2006 after Ventura supposedly made remarks insulting Navy SEALs.

Ventura’s attorney David Bradley Olsen said in his closing argument Tuesday he believes Kyle’s estate has earned more than $6 million from the book. He suggested jurors award Ventura from $5 million to $15 million to compensate for what he said was the harm to Ventura’s reputation.

An attorney for Kyle’s estate argued earlier that Ventura didn’t prove that the story was false or that he was hurt financially.